Today the Department for Transport published its rolling stock plan. This will allow initial work for the introduction of an extra 1,300 carriages, including lengthening platforms to accommodate longer trains.

The 1,300 extra carriages will mean that longer trains can run on the busiest parts of the network to tackle overcrowding around Britain's major cities.

Over the last 10 years around 4,500 new carriages have been brought into service. The number of new carriages delivered means that the UK now has one of the newest rolling stock fleets in Europe.

In the longer term, the Government is looking to double capacity over the next 30 years in what is the most ambitious strategy for growth on the railways in 50 years.